Chemical signatures for bioforensics

Narrowing down recipes

The scientific analysis of biological evidence isn’t just determining what something is – it’s also learning how and where it was developed.

Researchers at Pacific Northwest National Laboratory want to determine how a biological sample was made. To do this, researchers are seeking clues, or markers, such as changes in the sample’s metal and proteins.

As markers are identified and boundaries of each piece of information are defined, the researchers will integrate the data into a computational tool to help analyze the sample’s possible origins. This extraction of analytical data is needed in the bioforensic field.

The research is being done for the Department of Homeland Security’s Science and Technology Directorate.